Crispy Savoury Dishes

OK, this time I managed to get off the bus at the right stop .... being daylight helped .... I still had to do a few circles to orientate myself, but I did find the school.

I felt much more relaxed having been there before, and I came prepared with a large bag to take home the food were were going to cook!!  After the bread experience, I was taking no chances.

Today was a short course, less than three hours.

Our Chef was Marc Thivet and we had a different translator.  For this class there were no introductions so I don't know our translator's name, however, she was from the USA .... we always know who the chef is because we are given a short biography of his cooking history in our folders.  I know, I could have asked, but I didn't .... I will find out.  They were both a lot of fun.

There were 8 of us in total, Bianca was also at this class and we met each other beforehand, it was nice to know someone there.  I discovered that one couple were from the Caribbean (lucky ducks), they come to Paris about 8 times a year as the husband teaches classes. There was a Japanese man, a young chinese man, a lady and man from the USA, not related.

 

First course was Fresh goats cheese and vegetables in a crisp brick pastry parcel with chilli-honey vinaigrette (Croustillant de Chèvre Frais aux Légumes confits a l'huile d'olive vierge, vinaigrette de piment au miel)

Principal Ingredients
4 brik pastry sheets (warka dough)
olive oil
160g goat cheese
salt & pepper


Chilli-Honey Vinaigrette
100ml olive oil
Fresh chillies (number depends on how hot you like your dressing!)
1 tbsp mustard (dijon - but you can use what you like)
2 tbsp wine vinegar
salt & pepper
1 tbsp honey


Vegetables
220g zucchini (two medium)
50ml olive oil
200 grams tomatoes, cut into petals (quarters)
sugar, salt & white pepper

Mixed Salad
Baby rocket (arugula)

Firstly, we were shown how to confit tomato and zucchini. Most of you will know that there is a lot of "confit" in French cooking. The tomatoes were cored and a cross scored in the bottom, then placed in a pot of boiling water until you could see that the skin would peel.  The tomatoes are then plunged into iced water so they could be handled.  The peeling is easy, then they are quarters and the pulp and seeds removed.  The zucchini are sliced at an angle, approx 1/2 cm thick, then plunged into the same boiling water, when the water returns to the boil, the zucchini are removed from the heat immediately and drained.

Then a sheet of baking paper is placed on a rack and drizzled with olive oil, salt, white pepper and sugar, the tomato and zucchini are placed on top, then drizzled again with olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar.  Another piece of baking paper is placed on top of the vegetables and then a rack.  They are put in the oven at 80°C and cooked for at least 1/2 an hour.  The vegetables still retain their shape this way and they taste really good.

We then worked on the parcels.  A sheet of pate a brik or warka dough is brushed on both sides with olive oil. I haven't seen this pastry before, it is very fine and dries out quickly like filo and is round in shape.

A piece of goats cheese is placed in the centre of the pastry and drizzled with a little honey. The sides are bought up and tied with a chive (or thin piece of blanched leak green if chives are unavailable) and placed on a baking tray.

The parcels are baked in a 160°C oven until they are golden and crispy - at least 10 minutes.

 There were two types of goats cheese, one was younger and white the other had been rolled in ash and was older with a firmer texture. Goat's cheese here is wonderful ... and the varieties are many .... but that is another story ...

 


Oops, I forgot the vinaigrette .... mustard, salt & pepper and vinegar goes into the blender (this is done first as it allows the salt and pepper to dissolve in the vinegar), turn the blender on to a low setting and while it is running, slowly add the olive oil and increase speed, then add chilli and honey.


 The second recipe was Crispy Jumbo Shrimp with Citrus and Olive Oil Émulsion (Grosses crevettes Croustillantes, émulsion d'agrumes a l'huile d'olive)

Another simple dish, that is an easy way to do something a little different with prawns.

Principal Ingredients
16 large prawns
1 tsp chopped dill
1/2 packet kadaif pastry
olive oil


Herb Salad

1/4 bunch chervil
1/4 bunch flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1/4 bunch tarragon
14 bunch lemon grass
1/4 bunch mint

Citrus and Olive Oil Emulsion

1 orange
1/2 tbsp mustard (dijon)
Few coriander seeds
8 large basil leaves
150ml olive oil

The pastry used for this dish is another one I haven't seen before, it is kadaif pastry. The chef said it is similar to filo, but it has been passed through a machine that shreds it finel and it can be baked .... which is a bonus ... no need for deep frying!!

The cooked prawns were peeled, leaving the tail section on, interestingly there was no removal of the dreaded black vein!! They were then immersed in olive oil that had been mixed with chopped dill. The chef stressed the importance of using the stalks to as they retain some of the best flavour.

Then it was simply a matter of rolling a prawn in some of the Kedaif pastry, placing it on a tray, brushing with a little olive oil and honey and placing in a 160°C oven until they are ... you guessed it .... golden and crispy.  As the prawns are cooked, you don't want them in the oven too long.  I used some of my dill oil to drill on my prawns, however, it didn't look as good when it came out of the oven.

For the citrus and olive oil emulsion, squeeze juice from the orange.  Put mustard, salt & pepper and coriander seeds, basil leaves in a blender and blend at low speed, slowly add the olive oil and then the juice of the orange, increase speed.

For the herb salad, pick the best leaves from the herbs and combine in a bowl.

To serve, drizzle some emulsion on a plate, top with the herb salad and prawns.  I drizzled more emulsion over the prawns and also left a small bowl of it on the table for people to add more if they like.